“It’s like a Shakespearean term for whore,” McDonald explains when I enquire about the album title. “So you think it’s about a trumpet, but it’s not… There’s a song on the EP that’s called Blowing on the Devil’s Strumpet and the theme to that song is inspired by the name. I initially didn’t mean it to be dirty, but I guess the more you think about it the dirtier it gets.” This marks a main way the new album is set to differ from 2013’s Maybelene – with the flourishes of R-rated subtexts that come from ageing. “Lyrically it touches on some pretty confronting issues. It’s hard to say but it’s definitely darker than Maybelene. Those songs were written [when we were] 19 or 20 and a lot’s happened since then. It sounds like everything that I’ve absorbed over the last couple of years.” Those last couple of years have taken The Love Junkies on tour with British India and to every venue in Australia worth playing. It’s even taken them to Singapore where they played to K-pop thirsty crowds on 20-watt amps and tried to get their buzz on with $20 pints. “It was interesting,” understates McDonald.
Unlike Singaporean gigs, their bouts at home are usually friendlier on the kitty. “The only free thing you get being a musician is piss,” McDonald half laments as he realises they should’ve been asking for sandwiches on their rider instead of making requests to mess with organisers. Those requests were for things like batteries and a beer ensemble in tune with his, Robbie’s (Rumble, bass), and Lewis’ (Walsh, drums) differing tastes in ales. They do however try to moderate unsustainable consumption with their 3:2 beer ratio: “three beers to chill the nerves, two beers while you’re playing: happy days.”
Of all the touring and various shows, their Big Day Out set the year before last still stands at the forefront. “It was pretty boss to see so many people get down there early to see us.” While it’s impressive, the proudest moment these Perth natives hold aloft is when they first sold out their hometown’s Mojo’s for the Maybelene album launch. “It sold out in eight minutes,” he reflects on the door sales. “That was sick. It was mind-blowing.”
Though they’ve come far from there, Blowing on the Devil’s Strumpet mightn’t have ever had an album launch. The computer that held their magnum opus had a technical difficulty the opposite of J-Law’s or Kate Upton’s. Instead of leaking their work it was holding onto it with a firm grip – probably not unlike the grips of those who found Kate Upton’s images. “I probably just would’ve given up,” says McDonald of the contingency plan, but after wrestling with the computer in the small amount of time that they weren’t on the road, they came away with their prize. “We took the hard-drive out and we got it back, thank Christ.”
The Love Junkies have mantained their unrelenting release and tour schedule due to their ability to stay one album ahead. “We’d already demo-ed [Blowing on the Devil’s Strumpet] before the Maybelene release,” he confides. “But heaps of songs have been written since then.” Does that mean another release will come off the heels of BOTDT?You bet. But after they almost lost their baby to the matrix in the rush of touring, they might chill before they do it again. “At least for a couple of months.”
BY EDGAR IVAN
